


The Four

by Necro_Floodwaters



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Psychological Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-07 03:35:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14662473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Necro_Floodwaters/pseuds/Necro_Floodwaters
Summary: One month after the fall of Vale City, two men appear in Remnant. One is dead set on righting a wrong. The other is simply there to watch over his brother. Warning: possible physical torture and psychological torture.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Necro: Hey, so I'm copying this over from another account on a different site, so there are supposed to be italics. If I don't figure out how to make them, I'll come back and edit this so it's obvious.

Wrong.

What…? Wrong…something wrong…

Wrong. Wrong! Something…something wrong!

What is it? Wrong! Damn it, something is wrong! WRONG!

...

...must...wrong...must calcul...wrong...must calculate. Wrong. Find...wrong. Find the wrong.

Yes. Hehe...find wrong...find it!

The kingdom of Vale, home to Beacon Academy and Vale City. One month ago, the city was destroyed by an army of Grimm, monstrous creatures made of shadow and bone, and five humans, one of which stole an ancient power from a young woman and murdered the girl who should have received that power. During the battle, a powerful Grimm was awakened. Had it not been for the convenient presence of a young, silver-eyed girl, that creature would have killed what little citizens remained alive within the city.

Now, the city is in ruin and Grimm freely roam the streets. Atop the old clock tower, the Dragon, the Grimm woken up by the battle in the city below, remains frozen. And just a few blocks away, between a partially demolished building and the remaining wall of another structure, a man stumbled down the alley, clutching at his head with one hand and dragging a katana along the ground behind him with the other. At first glance, the man appeared normal, but when one really paid attention, odd things could be noticed: the man's eyes, when not closed against some intense pain, were a brilliant green that almost seemed to glow, his sword blade was made of an unnaturally dark metal, and his clothes were an odd mix of causal and formal.

The man ran a hand through his short curly hair then jammed his sword into the ground and sat down heavily, back against the wall. "What...wrong? What is...wrong? Clock...clock tower. Yes...the clock...tower." Standing again, the man grabbed his sword and began moving down the alley, his steps a little more even and much softer than before. As he progressed through the city, Grimm stopped and watched. The Grimm had ended the life of the last citizen in Vale City several days ago and to see this man, to feel the emotions running through him, was a great surprise to them.

"Creatures. They don't...sound like normal ani-animals." The man stopped and pressed the palm of his left hand against the side of his head. A small Beowulf, a Grimm resembling a transformed lycanthrope, or werewolf, began moving closer, sensing a moment of weakness. Less than a yard from the man, the young Beowulf pounced. The body continued into the wall where the man had been standing, but the head rested on the end of the man's sword, which he had held up to one of his ears. "I see. Hehehe, I see," he murmured just as the head began to disappear, turning into ash. The man did not see what was happening, for he was blind, but he did hear, and that was how he knew the world around him; he heard the buildings, the ground beneath his feet, and even the Grimm, and all that noise, all that sound, created an image in his mind, a three hundred and sixty degree view. "So you see, I see it all." The man laughed to himself, letting his now bare sword drop to his side. "Now, clock tower." The man turned a corner and almost immediately walked into an Ursa, which began backing away. "Aww, is the little beast scared? Good." The man walked past the bear-like creature, continuing his journey to the tower, Grimm shrinking away from the sudden void that was the man's feelings.

Shouldering open a door to the clock tower, the man paused to listen, building a map of as much of the tower as he could. "Le...left. Must..." The man stumbled into a wall, groaning as he pressed his palms against his forehead. "D-Damn it! I'm working as fast as...p-possible! Give me some peace!" The man took a deep, shuddering breath then began moving again, heading for the elevator, the only means of reaching the lower floor.

SHIING! CCRRREEAAAAAKK! The man pried and shook his sword as he attempted to shift the elevator doors, which had become lodged in the walls opposite where the actual elevator was set. "You know, to do something like this, it would require a lot of force." Giving up on leveraging the doors with his sword, the man made a flicking motion with wrist and one of the doors flopped over as if it had been pushed from underneath. "Of course, you also need some heat for something like this." The man prodded the deformed metal with his foot. "Well, bottom floor, here I come." The man walked over to the empty shaft and stepped inside, out into open air and stood there, seemingly levitating. What was actually occurring was the same force that had moved the elevator door: shadows. Shadows that act as the man's limbs, his weapons, and his tools, and, in this case, an impromptu elevator platform.

"Ding, bottom floor: death, destruction, and one hell of a mystery for me." The man laughed and dropped through the wreckage of the elevator. "I wonder if there's a sale. Hehehehe!" The man walked to the very back of the cavernous hall he was now in and placed his hands on a massive machine. A crackling sound emanated from his hands and electricity arced from him to the machine. "Energy transfer. Two pods. I see. But who was the energy for and who did it come from?" The man moved to one of the pods, which appeared to be missing the door, according to his hearing. When he felt inside, he very quickly drew his hand back to himself. "No. No no no no no nononononono! Wrong! This is wrong! This is...this is what we felt. This is what was wrong. No, it's not right." The man had begun to run his hands through his hair at some point and now he was pacing, shaking his head and muttering. "FUCK!" He slashed with his sword and ended cutting the...unoccupied pod next to him in half. "Damn it, probably shouldn't have done that." He sighed and moved back to the slightly more intact pod. "I'm so sorry, Lady of Autumn. If I had known...I'm sorry." The man reached into the pod and lifted the young woman out, cradling her in his arms. He did not need his phenomenal hearing nor would he have needed his eyes to tell that she was dead. She was so cold and unmoving. "I'm so sorry."

He turned towards the elevator then froze. "Oh dear. Oh no, no way." Expanding his senses, the man could not help looking around, feeling the energy left by a battle between two powerful people, one of which felt familiar. "So you were here. Old man, you should have known better." He shook his head and started walking again. "Don't worry, Maiden of Autumn, I will give you a proper burial, I promise. Then I have something I must attend to."

MadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMad

The man finished packing down the dirt of the Maiden of Autumn's grave, which he had dug out in a row of trees not too far from the tower, and stood up, brushing the dirt off on his pants. In his native tongue, the man said a quick good-bye and headed for the clock tower again. "Wait here for me, mm?" The man asked as he stuck his sword in the ground, easily slicing into the concrete of the sidewalk. He pressed his hands against the side of the tower, right above where a steel support beam ran under the material the tower was constructed. A moment of concentration and suddenly he was at the top, electricity shimmering over his body before fading. "Let's see, the thief came up here and was met by someone." He moved to the center of the tower, knelt, and placed his hand on the floor. "They fought for a very short while, then the second person's energy ceases." The man paused for a moment then moved over to the edge of the roof. "Then a third energy, very strong and very sudden. And since it seems to be all over the big...thing, I would say that's what froze it. Interesting." The man shook his head and was about to descend when something caught his attention. "Hang on, that second...hmm. Very interesting indeed." He turned towards the east and stood like that, 'staring' off into the distance. Eventually he moved, sweeping his arm in a slow arch before nodding and descending the tower in the same fashion that he had ascended. "Three months. Hopefully within three months, anyway." He took out a pocket watch and held it up to his ear. "Shit, five months. Actually, that could work out better." He slipped the watch back into his pocket. "Well, if I'm sticking around for almost half a year, might as well come up with a name. Hmm...Jay Nix. That will do. That'll do." The man grabbed his sword and started down the street. He got halfway before he stopped and considered the katana-like sword in his hand. "I need a sheath or something."

Jay began wandering through the city, trying to find clothes or leather shops, or anything with fabric inside. Curiously, most of the stores had already been looted and some recently so. Eventually, Jay found what he was looking for and something that he wasn't. "Hello? What's your name?" He could hear a heartbeat, but it was faint and whomever it belonged to wasn't moving. He moved furthered, pushing aside clothing racks and, at one point, cutting down a door. Jay stumbled into a back room and stopped, looking down on a small person, who was wearing several different styles of clothing, likely because their original set had become too filthy, and was clutching a tattered umbrella in one hand. The person seemed to have passed out within the last few hours and Jay quickly found out why when the person's stomach growled loudly. "Hmm...help or don't help? Really? Intriguing choice. Sheath first though." Jay walked back to the front of the shop, whipped a cloth off a display table, and folded it in such a way that it could hang from his belt loop and still hold his sword.

Suddenly, something very sharp was pressed against Jay's back. He froze for a moment then slowly put his hands up. He had been too focused on his sheath that he hadn't thought to ensure that he wouldn't be snuck up on. The sharp thing moved from his back to his side and from there to his front, the person he had found standing in front of him, if only barely. "Who...are you?" A woman's voice, a little on the high side and rough, as if she wasn't used to speaking or, more likely, hadn't spoken to anyone since the city's destruction. She also sounded exhausted.

"My name is Jay Nix. And you are…?" While Jay had had swords and various other weapons pointed at him during his long, and admittedly violence-filled, life, he had never been so uncomfortable with the idea of disarming someone. The girl in front of him was tired, hungry, and had quite likely had many more narrow escapes in the last month than in her entire life. And the idea that he was being threatened by a blade hidden in a beat up umbrella was a little funny.

"Any food...you have, give...it...to m...to me..." The girl toppled forward unexpectedly and Jay, out of surprise, almost did not catch her.

"My my, you're in worse shape than I thought." Jay shook his head and picked up the girl, cradling her in almost the same way he had the Maiden of Autumn. "Well, I have no food with me, but I suppose I could catch something." He muttered to himself as he moved through the shop, carefully moving racks and clothes out of his way with shadows and his feet.

Once outside, Jay shifted his grip on the girl then began moving towards the borders of the city. Everywhere he walked, Grimm would try to approach only to be cut down or forced back with shadows. When Jay made it to the edge of Vale, he turned west and began walking in the direction of the thickest woods he could hear.

MadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMad

"Unh..." The groan came from the other side of Jay's camp, making him look up from his task of sharpening the sword hidden inside the girl's umbrella. Another sound soon followed: violent retching and splattering.

"Not a very elegant way to wake up, for someone who uses this sword." Jay held the sword up, examining the edge and listening for movement from his guest. "Then again, if I was stuck in a city in the same situation that you were, I imagine that I wouldn't wake up very elegantly either. By the way, I wouldn't attempt to use my sword, there is a price to pay with nearly swing. That is, if you are capable of making contact." He glanced over his shoulder at the girl just as she pulled her hand away from the hilt of his sword. "There's a bowl of broth next to the campfire. It's for you." Jay slid the girl's weapon back into the umbrella and began to inspect the material between the spindles.

She scooted over to the fire and grabbed the bowl, taking a small mouthful and swishing it around before swallowing. "What..." cough "what are you doing...to my sword?"

"I am repairing it. It would appear that it has gone a few weeks without proper care." Jay removed the finger-less glove on his right hand and laid it across the umbrella spindles at regular intervals, noting how much of the glove went over or, when the spindles got too far apart, how much space was left between the glove and opposite spindle. "We're going to need some material. What's left of the original feels like lace, but...there's something mixed in it, almost crushed in." Being blind, most of Jay's other senses were enhanced, the exception being taste, and he could just barely discern a grainy substance on what was left of the umbrella's material.

"Dust." The girl sipped at the broth, watching Jay as he studied her weapon, noting the length of the blade, how everything fit together, what other things the umbrella was capable of doing.

"Dust? I'm not quite a native. Will you explain?" Jay slid the sword back into the umbrella and laid it next to him. He stood up and stretched, casually placing his right foot on top of the girl's weapon, keeping it in place.

"Dust is a powerful powder-like," She paused to clear her throat, "substance collected from gems mined from underground." She returned to sipping at her broth, satisfied with her explanation.

"Hmm...so they must have abilities, powers that can be added to objects like clothes, weapons, etc. Interesting. What sort of powers does this Dust usually manifest?"

The girl did not answer, instead choosing to set the bowl down and attempting to stand. When she fell over, Jay simply regarded her as most would a drunk: mild concern and no interest in helping. "Wonderfully done. That was almost a second." The girl shot Jay a look so dirty that he actually felt and tried again, failing when she had nothing to help support her weight. "Has it occurred to you that several weeks without proper food and exercise may have temporarily robbed you of something as simple as walking? Of course, that could also be the paralyzing agent I dropped in the broth earlier." When the girl turned to glare at him again, Jay merely smiled. "What? I didn't want you attacking me before I had the chance to talk. And it was only enough to make moving...difficult."

"Now," Jay said, moving closer to the burnt out fire, "I have a few questions for you and after you answer them you can either be on your way or accompany me to the nearest settlement. With your weapon, too." He added. The girl considered Jay's statement for a short time then, sensing no trap, sat down across the fire pit from him. "Alright. First question: what is your name?"

"My name is Neopolitan."

"A pleasure to meet you, Neopolitan, my name is Jay Nix." Jay tried to smile reassuringly, but he knew that with the facial mask and odd clothing, it probably did not come across as even somewhat comforting. "I think I may have told you that all ready. Anyway, how did you come to be in that store?"

"I was in Vale for...business when the Grimm came."

"Grimm? Like the brothers? Never mind. The Grimm would be those creatures crawling all over the city, I suppose. Well, I have one other question for you before I have to pack up the camp and be on my way." Neopolitan gestured for Jay to ask. "Would you like to accompany me to the nearest town? After all, travelling alone can be very dangerous."

Neopolitan blinked and regarded the man before her suspiciously. "You said that I could 'be on my way' after you asked your questions."

"I did. And you can, but I wouldn't mind the company. Besides, who knows, we might just find each other useful at some point. What do you say?" Jay hopped to his feet, hooked a foot under Neopolitan's umbrella, kicked it up, spun it over the back of his hand, and held it out to her, handle first.

"I'd say you're insane."

"You wouldn't be wrong, Ms. Neopolitan, however, questioning the stability of my mind is not an answer." Jay shook the umbrella teasingly. "Come on, yes or no, you get your weapon back and the chance to carry out that little fantasy of stabbing me."

Startled, Neopolitan jerked up, almost toppling over again before regaining her balancing on shaky legs. "How did you know that?"

"Energy is as energy does and thoughts are just a different kind of energy for me. That and I'm fairly irritating to those that first meet me, so not too hard to guess your intentions."

Neopolitan considered Jay again before nodding slowly, grasping the proffered umbrella handle. "Ok."

While Neopolitan was dealing with the mysterious, and more than a little crazy, Jay Nix, in another part of Remnant, far from the devastated City of Vale, nestled between a massive mountain and a sweeping forest, there was a village, small but a frequent stop for Hunters, Huntresses, and travelers of all types. Within this village, a building sat, about the size of our world's brownstones. This build is called Red's Bed and Bar, an inn with, that's right, a bar on the bottom floor. Red's Bed and Bar held ten rooms total and no more than half were ever filled, and most who stay are Hunters and Huntresses.

"Good evening!" The barkeep called when he heard the door open, setting off a little bell above the door. He didn't look up from his task of cleaning the shot glasses, all of which were lined up on the bar top in two separate rows. "I have ten minutes until I close the bar, so if you're looking for a drink, it'll have to be quick."

"Actually," a man said, placing a custom-made Colt 1855 twenty-four inch revolving rifle down on the counter, "I'm here to rent a room for a night, maybe two." The man dug into the pockets of his coat, pulling out a slim wallet.

"It's fifteen Lien a night." The barkeep said, starting on the beer mugs.

"Is breakfast extra or...?" The man paused, wallet held firmly in his hand.

"Breakfast is free for Hunters and Huntresses, five Lien for regular guests." The barkeep looked up and took note of the rifle on his counter. "You a Hunter?"

"Of sorts." The barkeep nodded at the man's answer, grabbed a ledger from a shelf behind his bar, and dropped it on the counter in front of the man.

"Sign your name and write down how long you'll be staying." The barkeep nodded when the man finished and collected the ledger. "Room six, it's the third one on the right upstairs. Here's your key," the barkeep dug in his pants pocket and tossed a broad ended key, with number six engraved on it, to the man.

"Thanks." The man caught the key and grabbed his rifle, heading for the stairs. He stopped and turned around when the barkeep addressed him.

"'Scuse me, but what's this last name? I can read through Mason C, but that's it." The barkeep looked up from his ledger and glanced at Mason.

"Cole. I guess my parents had a sense of humor." Mason smiled and winked, his coal black eyes shining with amusement.

"Yes, I suppose so. Good night, Mr. Cole."

"Oh, please, call me Mason. Good night." Mason turned again and went up the flight of stairs. After locking the door to room six, Mason shrugged out of his coat and slung it at the large bed in the center of the room. He stretched and groaned when several joints popped. "I've been sleeping outdoors too long." Mason ran his hands through his hair, stopping when he reached his cat-like ears, which had been pressed flat against his head all day. "Stiff as a board. Of course." Sighing, Mason uncurled his tail from around his waist and carefully massaged the base. "If I'd known about this world's Faunus, I wouldn't have had to do this." Mason sighed again and threw on the bed, forgetting that his rifle was caught in his coat. "...ow."


	2. Chapter 2

"Ugh...what the...?" Blinking rapidly, Mason sat up and looked over to the window, the source of the bright light that had woken him up. "Fuck, I got a room facing the sunrise..." He made a quiet growling noise and swung himself off the bed, crossing the room and roughly pulling the thin curtains closed. "Great...now I'm up and that was completely pointless." Mason pulled the curtains open again and pulled the bottom half of the window up, letting in a slight breeze. He sniffed once, twice, three times before returning to the bed and searching the folds of his coat. "I need a smaller coat..." Mason muttered just as his hand bumped against something long and hard. "There you are!" He smiled and pulled a three-and-a-half foot long black cane, topped with an electric blue jewel about the size of baby's fist, out of his coat. Twirling the cane with his piano player fingers, Mason grabbed his rifle and slipped the strap over his shoulder. "Ready." The cane slid through his hand and the tip hit the floor with a soft thud, Mason's hand resting on the top.

Opening the door to his room, Mason stepped out and nearly ran into another guest, a man with black hair and silver, red, and black clothes who reeked of alcohol. "Excuse me, didn't see you there."

"No problem." The man replied, his deep voice giving no sign of drunkenness. "Name's Qrow Branwen."

"Mason Cole. A pleasure to meet you." Mason said, locking his door then checking to ensure the lock actually worked.

"Not seen you around before, and I travel through this area a lot." Qrow pulled a silver-colored flask from a pocket on his button up and unscrewed the lid, taking a big swig from it before closing the flask and putting it away.

"Oh, I travel extensively and this is my first time in this particular area. I love wandering from place to place, seeing new sights and such. What about you? Do you travel for pleasure or work?" Mason smiled casually at Qrow, slipping his room key into his pocket and turning to head for the stairs.

"A little of both I suppose, but nothing beats returning home and hanging with my nieces." Qrow turned with Mason and walked beside him to the steps and behind him down them.

"That must be nice," Mason said softly to himself, loosening the grip he had suddenly adopted on his cane. "If you're constantly traveling, your nieces must be very happy to see you when you make it back home." He said louder so that Qrow could hear.

"Hmm? Yeah, they're always excited to see me. So, what's with the cane? The rifle I get, but not the cane." Qrow nodded at the object in question, which Mason had just spun around his finger out of habit.

Sitting down at one of the many round tables in the bar area, Mason set his cane down on the wooden surface in front of him as Qrow took the opposite seat. "This thing? Oh, it's nothing much. Just a metal stick with a jewel atop. It was a birthday present." Mason waved to get the barkeep's attention and the man nodded to show that he had seen. "I don't suppose breakfast here comes with a menu?"

"Nope. Just eggs, sausage, and something that man tries to pass off as pancakes." Qrow answered, waving at the barkeep as well. "But it's free so no reason to complain, eh?"

Mason shrugged and grabbed a fork just as the barkeep set his and Qrow's plates down in front of them, walking off without asking for payment just as promised. "Yeah, no reason to complain if the pancakes kill me. Dead men can't complain." Mason chuckled, lifting the flat and, somewhat, limp pancakes up with his fork.

"That is very true." Qrow agreed, spearing a sausage with his fork and pointing it at Mason. "So you're a Hunter?" He bit the tube of meat in half and waited.

"Of a sort," Mason replied after a moment, having had to finish his mouthful of eggs first. "I take it you are a Hunter as well?" He scooped up another forkful of eggs and waited for the answer as he chewed.

"Yes. And as a Hunter who has seen a lot of weapons, I must say that that rifle is a first. Not many Hunters choose a weapon with a single function."

"The rifle is for long range only, to be honest. Close up, it does too much damage." Mason patted his rifle fondly. "Speaking of weapons, what's yours? I didn't see one on the way here."

"I use a scythe. I'm not used to seeing a Hunter with two separate weapons. Why not have a weapon designed to function like your rifle and...cane?" Qrow took another hit from his flask and glanced at the object in question.

"Well, I had the cane long before the rifle and it was a present from my brother. Custom made for me and no one else. The same with the rifle, except it came from a good friend. Besides, I am skilled enough with both to more than make up for having two weapons." Mason pushed his mostly empty breakfast plate away, the pancakes untouched after the initial bite. "So a scythe, eh? What else can it do? Sniper rifle? Shotgun? I swear if you say pistol, I am getting up and walking away."

"Right on the first guess," Qrow answered.

"Not hard to figure out. If you have the patience to learn how to wield a scythe, then you must be capable of using a sniper rifle to good effect. I hope." Mason pushed back from the table and stood up, stretching quietly. "So, I'm actually new to the whole Hunter thing. Care to help a new guy learn the ropes a little?"

"Didn't you learn 'the ropes' at whatever academy you went to?" Qrow pulled out his flask again and took another hit from it.

"I slept through most of the classes," Mason responded smoothly. "I have a hard time staying awake during the day."

"That's what coffee is for."

"Coffee tastes horrible and I hate tea," Mason replied. "Now, you gonna help? How would you feel if I died a horrible death because you refused to help me?" Mason asked in a melodramatically worried voice.

"I get the feeling it would take more than a Grimm to kill you," Qrow said, unmoved.

"Ah, not buying the rookie bit, eh? Fair enough. My brother did always say I couldn't act for shit." Mason grinned and turned to leave. "Of course, I'm not buying the friendly traveler bit either so I guess fair is fair." He said over his shoulder. "Though, if I was constantly drinking, I doubt I would be able to pull that off very well either." Mason waved and headed for the door, cane in one hand and his rifle slung over the opposite shoulder. He stepped outside, took a deep breath in through his nose, and let it out in a sigh. "So what are you doing here, brother?" He muttered to himself. Mason set off for the gate set into the wall of the small town, looking up at the sky as he went.

"You really should watch where you're going. Might run into someone like you did me." Qrow suddenly said from Mason's side.

"I only I almost ran into you. And I thought you weren't going to come." Mason glanced at the man beside him, taking in the silver-colored rectangle on Qrow's back, and smiled.

"Only person to not buy the 'friendly traveler' act, as you put it, so I figured I would do my job without the pretense. It certainly saves me a lot of trouble."

"And me. I'm curious, though, isn't a spy being found out usually a bad thing?" Mason idly began swinging his cane back and forth as they got nearer the gate. "I'm not about to be cut down, right?" Mason chuckled at his joke. Qrow pointedly remained quiet. "I apologize. My brother usually makes the bad jokes. However, I doubt you think I'm just a spy. You're certainly not as relaxed as you are pretending to be."

"You've got a hell of a skill, being able to tell whether or not someone's lying." Qrow stopped at the gate the same moment that Mason did, the two facing each other.

"You think I'm here for something else. I'm going to tell you now, I am here for brother and my brother only. Whatever you are protecting, I have no interest."

"And why do you think I'm protecting something?"

"Mr. Branwen, I am well aware of the situation of this land. I know of the events that took place in Vale. I also know who is behind it and who you hope is the one to end this. And my brother is privy to this knowledge as well. I have no interest in your affairs, or that of your niece's. I just want my brother. Hopefully, he doesn't cross paths with your niece." He added the last part in a mutter, glancing out at the woods as he said it.

"Why? If your brother is a danger to my niece, I need to know." Qrow demanded, stepping in closer.

"Mr. Branwen, you are entirely welcome to invade my space, but only under different circumstances. Right now, I would like it very much if you backed up and allowed me to explain as we explore the woods. I need more info, and I can't get it from the people in this village." Mason turned and began walking into the woods, changing his grip on the jeweled cane.

"Where else would you find information on your brother?" Qrow followed after him, knowing that the village was a safe place for the others to rest for the time being.

"From the only things that would be able to sense him: the Grimm." He answered, disappearing from the sight of the astounded, and slightly concerned, Qrow.

"He's insane." He mumbled, taking a swig of his hip flask before following him again.

"Actually, I'm quite sane and I have excellent hearing." Mason called from up ahead as he climbed up a tree, his tail curled around his cane as he clung to the trunk. "And besides, there are many ways to gain information from creatures that cannot speak."

MadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMadMad

"Ms. Neopolitan, I assume that you can read a map." Jay said, unfolding a large map of Remnant that he'd grabbed on the way out of the ruins of Vale. "At least, I assume this is a map. It's very difficult to tell." He added, holding the map out for a shadowy tendril to grab and pass to Neopolitan. "From what I can tell, we are approximately five miles from what used to be Vale. I don't know which direction."

Neopolitan took the map from the shadow appendage, watching it closely as it shrank back into the darkest part of Jay's shadow. She glanced at the map and almost immediately found their position, thanks to markers left on the paper from the previous owner.

"You're likely wondering where we're going. I need to get to another one of the cities. I'm tracking something. Along the way, I will also be looking for…some of my other objectives…" His voice trailed off and he cocked his head to the side as if listening to something. "Yes…I know…I know that!….she has been punished enough." He muttered, pushing aside the underbrush with a pair of the same shadows he'd used before and held it apart for Neopolitan, who was now staring at him. Perhaps choosing to follow this man wasn't the best decision she'd ever made. He stopped suddenly and tilted his head towards the right of the two. "Must be ballsy, if it's headed for us."

Neopolitan turned to look in the same direction, but saw nothing, not that she was surprised. She knew by now that he was likely completely insane and would be of little help to her.

"You won't be able to see it just yet. It's still some distance away, but I would suggest having your umbrella at the ready. It'll be here soon." He informed her, still facing the direction the 'danger' was coming from.

She shook her head and began walking again, giving Jay a wide berth. She snapped the map into a better position and resumed looking over it.

"Five minutes, at the least. Watch the tree root." He added, just as Neopolitan took a step and almost tripped over a large root. "I may be insane, but at least I'm observant."

Neopolitan glanced back at the man, but he wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to her anymore. It seemed that he only ever did pay attention when he felt that a discussion with someone real was necessary, otherwise it was as if she were merely a more self aware version of the map system on scrolls.

"Detour. Time extended to fifteen minutes. No...settlement. Time extended to roughly four hours. Death toll..." He paused and tilted his head once again. "A few hundred. Unfortunate." He turned away and began walking again, just as the screams from the settlement he had spoken of reached Neopolitan's ears. It was just like at Vale, when she and her comrades had unleashed the Grimm. "You should not continue to stand there. The numbers are an estimate. If more arrive, you will be killed and I will be short a navigator." Jay told her, without bothering to stop or even turn around. Neopolitan followed him quickly, the screams following after them.

Another hour into trekking through the forest later, Neopolitan began to notice the general lack of activity around them. Other than the close call with the Grimm and the settlement, nothing approached them. Birds did not land near them when they stopped to rest, small animals could be heard scurrying around them, but never closer than a few feet. At first, she thought it might be because of the noise, since Jay didn't remain quiet for long, whether speaking to her or arguing with nothing, but even during his silences, nothing came close. She never heard a predator approach either, though she knew there were some in the forest.

"Are there any more settlements nearby?" Jay asked. "We're going to need food, if we have to travel as far as I believe we will. Or I will."

This was one of the few times she couldn't not talk. "We should reach one by tomorrow."

"Good. If you have no desire to follow…." He cocked his head to the side again and frowned. "I'm very well aware. Yes...yes, I know. I can find my own way, if need be. We're not arguing this. Like I said, she had enough punishment. Yes, the plan is still the same. I don't know….no, I doubt she does either." Jay had stopped by now, hands in his pockets as he argued with the air.

Meanwhile, Neopolitan was focusing on finding the nearest town. As soon as she got them there, she would part ways with this man who argued with the air. She was done with dealing with these things, especially after being trapped in the ruined Vale for so long. She looked up from the map when he said her name.

"Ms. Neopolitan, let's go. The faster we get to a town, the sooner you'll be rid of me." He informed her, turning back to face his pink-haired companion. "I may even help you on your way, provided you promise me something."

Neopolitan couldn't help it. If it got her away from him for good, she'd likely promise anything. So she inclined her head at him, waiting for what he would ask of her.

"Promise me that you will never get involved with Cinder Falls or Salem, ever again. Kay?" While he said it pleasantly enough, Neopolitan felt a sudden chill sweep through her body, his smile taking on an unsettling feel. She nodded quickly. This was the first time she had a feeling that Jay was likely more than he appeared. "Good. I'd hate to have to listen to him. You seem like a nice enough person." His smile was friendly once again as he turned away and began walking.


End file.
